an act of dripping.
liquid that drips.
the sound made by falling drops.
the irritating drip of a faucet.
Slang. an unattractive, boring, or colorless person.
(in house painting) the accumulation of solidified drops of paint at the bottom of a painted surface.
Architecture, Building Trades. any device, as a molding, for shedding rainwater to keep it from running down a wall, falling onto the sill of an opening, etc.
a pipe for draining off condensed steam from a radiator, heat exchanger, etc.
Medicine/Medical. intravenous drip.
Slang. maudlin sentimentality.
the formation and falling of drops of liquid
the sound made by falling drops
architect a projection at the front lower edge of a sill or cornice designed to throw water clear of the wall below
informal an inane, insipid person
med
the usually intravenous drop-by-drop administration of a therapeutic solution, as of salt or sugar
the solution administered
the equipment used to administer a solution in this way
First recorded before 1000; Middle English dryppe, Old English dryppan; cf. drop
First recorded in 1975–80
When water flows slowly in tiny drops, it drips. The movement of water in this way is called a drip. Have you ever had a leaky faucet? Then you probably know a drip is water leaking out one drop at a time: drip drip drip. A broken faucet has a drip, and you can say the water is dripping. When it rains, it usually starts dripping before it rains harder. When you turn on the shower, it might start as drips. Once the water is flowing strongly and in a stream, it's not dripping anymore.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That’s an eternity or a drip, depending on whose survival we’re talking about.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026
According to the National Cancer Institute, PAHs can develop when fat and juices from meat drip onto a hot surface or open flame, creating smoke that deposits these compounds onto the food.
From Science Daily • May 22, 2026
This elicits a slow drip of sarcasm from Catherine, who eventually gets Hal to confess that he’s the drummer.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
"You've got to drip feed him in as and when you can," he said.
From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026
She let the mixture drip onto her snout.
From "Willodeen" by Katherine Applegate
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
